The Dimension Wars
by ElecmanEXE
Summary: After Nebula and Nebula Grey was defeated, all is fine with the world. At least until Yuuichirou Hikari unveils his new invention that would change the world. Little did he know that it would be the cause of one of the greatest tragedies of all time.
1. Prologue

Note: Read the following text slowly scrolling upwards with the Star Wars theme song playing in the background:O Note2: This is obviously an AU universe. It breaks off from the official storyline right after EXE5.

The Dimension Wars

The year is 200X. It is the end of the decade and almost the start of t a new one; a decade of, hopefully, peace.

Many things have happened over the years since the criminal syndicate Nebula's heyday and subsequent downfall.

Immediately following the event known as the "SoulNet Crash," Doctor Yuuichirou Hikari and Doctor Regal Wily published the original Hikari Report along with a reminder of its capabilities. Of course, there was a large uproar over SoulNet and its powers. There were rallies, protests, and even speeches from politicians who actually knew what they were talking about for once (who couldn't? It's SOULNET). Despite the amount media attention, the hub-bub died down fairly quickly and everybody went back to their lives.

Hikari Netto and his friends returned to school, Dr. Regal headed back to Nation X, the disbanded Team Protoman members went home and returned to their respective lives, Yuuichirou-hakase returned to his research in SciLab, Barrel returned to Netopia, and Higure Yamitarou opened another chip shop.

Yes, everything went back to the way it was. Peace reigned over the land. At least until the fateful day...The one fateful day...that changed it all!  
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Author's Note: I'd appreciate reviews. 


	2. Chapter01: Tragedy

Chapter01: Tragedy Note: EXE5 spoilers.

"ROCKBUSTER!"

BLAM!

The purple burst of light blasted its way from the blue buster towards the flaming blue ball of DarkPower. Nebula Grey struggled to overwhelm Colonel and escape its current predicament. Unfortuneately, it doesn't seem to be able to get past the large, yellow blade that has stopped Nebula Grey mere centimeters from its target and freedom. In a final, desperate attempt, Nebula Grey let out a humongous pulse of anger and despair and pushed the military navi backwards in an attempt to at least use him as a makeshift shield. Colonel smiled and shoved/slashed the burning orb of evil, resulting in a Counter Hit which paralyzed Nebula Grey. It could only scream as Colonel, still smiling, jumped out of the way and the powerful ball of destruction neared its target.

"AAAAAAARRRRRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHH!"

BOOM!

Hikari Netto watched Nebula Grey's destruction from his PET's holographic display. The lovechild of Regal and DarkPower let out a yell of pain and dismay which resonated throughout the entire room. Netto cringed as the beast's last wails echoed through the entire SoulNet network and nearly knocked him out. Netto almost doubled over but he managed to regain control over his body before something bad happened. He looked up to see Dr. Regal stand at his computer with a face absolute shock and disbelief while the eery green mesh that was representative of SoulNet started to blink first slowly, then faster and faster, and with a big KABOOM, flash out of sight. Netto, relieved, noticed that his fellow Team Blues members have regained their senses and are now looking around wondering what in the world has happened.

"It's all gone..."

"It's over, Regal."

Surprised, Netto turned around and Regal looked up. A scruffy looking man walked past the amazed Team Blues members and Dr. Hikari and came up the ramp beside Netto.

"W-who are you...?" Netto asked, to which the scruffy man answered, "I am Barrel...AKA, Colonel's operator."

"Barrel...! Supreme Commander of Netopia's Network Corps! What are you doing..."

Supreme Commander of Netopia's Network Corps! Netto whirled around to look at the man standing beside him. The six foot tall man stood there looking in Regal's direction. Blackish-blue hair, strong, set face, an unshaven stubble, grey shirt, sweat pants...The only military traits that Netto could find in the man was in the face, yellow camoflauge coat, and the boots. He didn't seem to be older than Netto's father, and yet, he was the Supreme Commander of Netopia's Network Corps! Netto stared in awe as Barrel proceeded to reply to Regal.

"A certain someone asked me to destroy SoulServer...But it seems that the job's already done...The annihilation of Nebula Grey is making the plant self-destruct, and the explosions are bringing the volcano to life. SoulServer will be inundated by lava in about 10 minutes."

"Heh heh heh...So my grand plan have come to this..."

"It's dangerous here. Get out as fast as you can."

Netto nodded and turned around to leave when the floor started shaking under him. "Yikes!" Netto yelled, and he tried to maintain balance on his roller blades. When the shaking stopped, Netto and Barrel ran down the ramp, towards Enzan and the others. Netto immediately glomps Enzan err...ahem his dad.

"Netto! ACK!" Yuuichirou falls down and nearly slipped into comatose again. "Great job, Netto, Rockman." Yuuichirou said, with nods and cheers of agreement from the rest of Team Blues.

"Thanks Papa! Everybody! Let's get out of here!"

"You go on ahead. I promise that I'll be right behind you."

"What! No!"

"As a scientist and my Dad's son, I must speak with Regal."

"Ok...Hurry then!"

"I promise." An large explosion rocked the room. "Time's short, go!"

"Roger!" And with that, Netto and everybody else ran out of the room.

Netto followed Supreme Commander Barrel and the rest of his team members outside of the room. Netto paused outside the door and looked back towards his father. Yuuichirou looked his son in the eyes, nodded to remind Netto to escape, and turned around, walking towards Regal.

"Come on Netto!"

"Coming!"

Netto turned to take one last look at his father before leaving and screamed. His father was still visible, but not clearly for there was a torrent of debris falling from the ceiling of SoulServer's room and falling everywhere; crashing onto the floor near Yuuichirou, splashing into the lava, or exploding in mid-air.

"PAPA!" Netto screamed as he chased after his father's disappearing figure to no avail for his teammates have come back and held him.

"PAPA! PAPA! NOO! LET GO OF ME!" Netto screamed, struggled, and strangled poor Nenji, futilely, who had grabbed Netto by the collar. "Papa's in danger! He's in danger! Let me go! I have to save him!"

"Netto! There is nothing you can do! We can only trust that Dr. Hikari will make it out fine. Quick! Let's go!"

"AAAUUGGGH!" Netto knee-hit Nenji in the stomach, back-hand slapped Barrel across the face, and landed on Laika and Enzan's feet with his rollerblades. Freed, Netto dashed towards the room hollering at the top of his lungs in search of his father. Just then, an explosion knocked Netto backwards and sent him crashing into Nenji, Laika, and Enzan. Dazed and unable to move, Netto could only watch as his father's form disappeared behind a couple of more explosions and a cave-in of rubble at the entrance of the room. His father was gone. Again. Just like that. After many days of fighting Nebula and finally, Nebula Grey, it was all for naught. For naught. It was all his fault. He should have taken his father with him instead of letting him follow. Stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid! What's the point of being the savior of the world if you can't save your own father!

"ARRRRRGGGGGHHH! WWWHHHYYY!" Netto cried in anguish and beat the floor in despair. Netto wiped his tears, and charged towards the rubble when suddenly, a large hand karate chopped him diagonally onto his right collarbone.

When Netto woke up, he was being grasped by a huge hand, namely Barrel's. Realizing that they're outside, Netto frantically looked for his father.

"Where's Dad!"

"He's not here."

"What are you doing then! We have to go look for him! LET ME GO! OOF!"

"Listen to me Hikari! Your father will make it out as he promised and if he doesn't, I don't think he would have wanted his only son to die searching for him! UNDERSTAND!"

Netto could only clench his fists and blink back tears as a frantic helicopter pilot flew the chopper towards the group. Barrel and the others jumped and grabbed onto the rope ladder and it was a good thing that they jumped when they did for the platform they were standing was engulfed in a fiery explosion. Netto couldn't hold back the tears. His father never made it...It was just impossible to believe...

Everybody climbed in except for Netto who was thrown into the chopper by Barrel. Reunited with their individual navis, the rest of Team Blues had their own private reunions with their respective navis. Netto, on the other hand, looked outside towards the factory. Parts of the factory was on fire, but not a lot; Dad could just be alive! They should turn back!

Just as Netto turned to talk to the pilot, his world turned green and he saw everybody around him but in the distance, he could sense three people inside the factory. He felt a faint person, an evil person, and a third person in the back. Then it dawned on him: Somebody had reactivated SoulNet and the first person is his father! He's alive! But what's this? His father seems to be slipping away! This cannot be! No! They should go back before something happens! Netto turned around and noticed that everybody else noticed this too.

"Let's go back! Father is still in there! And he's dying! We MUST go back!"

"It's too dangerous."

"What do you mean danger-"

Netto never got to finish his sentence for at that precise moment, a great display of fireworks erupted from the summit of Mount Belenus and engulfed the Dark Chip Factory. Red, molten lava shot out of the volcano as if somebody detonated an OmegaMissile and red, hot rocks flew around everywhere detroying in their path.As Nenji stood there drooling, Netto's heart just broke. His father was truly gone. Gone. Dead. Disappeared. Forever. Yuuichirou Hikari, one of the greatest scientists known to mankind next to his father, Wily, Cossack, and a couple of others. The kind father who used to play with him, be there to support him whenever needed, and the same father who brought to him Rockman.EXE, his navi and twin brother Hub.

"NOOOO!" Netto dropped down to his knees and started to cry. Everybody stood around Netto not knowing what to do - except Nenji because he's still drooling at Mount Belenus - when Netto suddenly doubled over.

"Netto!" Everyone, including Nenji (about time), rushed towards Netto.

The last thing Netto saw, well...sensed, was Regal's soul undergoing a lot of pain.

"Netto! Netto! Netto-kun!"

Looks like everybody is worried...heh...HEY, wait a second...

"Netto-kun! WAKE UP! You'll be late for Dad's global presentation!"

"Huh!"

"WAKE UP!"

"Waugh!" Netto, surprised, rolled off of his bed. "Ungh...Gasp! Rockman! Where's Dad!"

"At SciLab of course! Where else? And guess what, you're late. Again."

"Oh yeah! Dad's unveiling of his latest and possibly most greatest invention ever! Isn't it at 12:00am?"

"Yes, but right now, it's December 31, 11:35pm. New Year's is just around the corner."

"WHAT!"

A couple of minutes later, Netto blasted through the door, said goodbye to his mother, and dashed out of the front door. Haruka woke up and wondered what just happened and why the front door seemed to say goodbye to her for no reason. She blinked, shrugged, checked the time, and turned on the TV.

"I can't believe I'm late!"

"That's what you get for staying up all night NetBattling."

"Grr..." Netto was suddenly feeling all grumpy for no reason. That dream he had of Nebula's last and final attack on the world gave him an uneasy feeling. "I hope NetMurphy won't give me any reason to curse him..." Netto muttered as he speed down the street towards the SciLabs.

To be continued.  
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Author's Notes: Yay! First fic! And I made fun of Nenji:P Any comments would be appreciated. Really.  
Author's Notes2: The storyline starts after the Team of Blues game. So, Team Colonel never existed. Just something to note as the fic progresses.  
Author's Notes3: The anime elements will come soon. This fic is based more on the anime than the game and you'll see why. So, if you're upset about the lack of the anime's plot points, don't be upset. :P 


	3. Chapter02: Warmups

ARGH! The next chapter in the epic series is finally released! I've had a lot of trouble getting the time and actually getting my thoughts down onto "paper." Thanks to those who left me reviews. I really appreciate it.

**Mugen.exe – **It might be a rehash of the ending of EXE5, but all fics have to start somewhere, and it's a very important part of the fic. You'll see later on. P

**Chapter02: Warmups**

A dark figure watched from a window as Netto rushed out of the Hikari house and dashed down the street. The figure smirked as Netto encountered a roadblock and rushed back looking for a detour. The figure, chuckling at the hero's predicament, closed the window and turned towards another window.

"Subjects Hikari02 and Hikari03 have left the building."

"Excellent. I presume that their destination is Scilab?"

"They are headed in its general direction."

"Good...good...Where is 00?"

"At Scilab as expected."

"What of the other subjects?"

"I am bringing up the list."

"Hmm...Uh-huh...Oooo...Hmm...Perfect. Just as I have forseen. About time." The operator smiled as he closed the NetMines game. "Tch. Cossack's baby hasn't been spotted yet, eh? Too bad. Meh, might as well...Those Undernet boys had better start being more useful or I'll go look somewhere else to waste my zeny."

"Better than nothing. You should get ready for the special event or you'll miss out on the fun."

"Yes, you're quite right. But I'm already ready. I only need to leave."

"Whatever."

"I've waited a long time for this day to come..." the operator mused, "We should make sure everything goes according to the plan. Did you finalize the checks on the upgrades?"

"Yes. I've already modified the drivers for the weapons programs for optimal power output and I've updated the chip folder."

"Excellent. How are the upgrades?"

"Great. Never knew you had the skill to create them nor knew how convenient they could be."

"Haha...Hmm...Is that who I think it is?"

"Yes. Subject Anderson00 has set-up the roadblock as expected."

"Hehehe...I needed an eye-opener anyways. Let's go before they leave."

"Don't forget your umbrella. It looks like as if it's going to rain later on today."

"Hmm." The operator looked out the window and stared at the cloudless night sky for a while. "Whatever you say. You're the weather navi."

And with that, the mysterious operator picked up his PET, jacket, fedora, and a couple of other trinkets (including the umbrella), and went out the door.

Netto stopped in front of another roadblock. This is the seventeenth roadblock he came across in the last ten minutes! He could have arrived at Scilab by now! The roadblocks are everywhere! Netto just can't stand it. He swore all of them weren't here yesterday or even this morning! Something's wrong and he doesn't know why.

"Netto-kun. We're really going to be late. Everybody's probably waiting for us again."

"I can't help it if there's five hundred roadblocks everywhere!"

"What about that curry shop we passed by five minutes ago?"

"That doesn't count!" Netto sighed. "Neh, Rockman. Can't you tell whether there's a roadblock or not?"

"No. I can't seem to pull any data out from the transportation network."

"Argh...What time is it?"

"11:45pm. Are you sure you can make it?"

"Of course! Hey, I wonder what's going on over there" Netto said as he looked towards a crowd that was amassing around something. "Ne Rockman. Let's check it out."

"Netto-kun! We're going to be late even if we hurry now!"

"It's alright. It only takes 5 minutes to get to Scilab from the subway anyways. Just a quick look. Besides, I want to find out what that '98' is doing there for."

Rockman could only sigh as Netto squeezed through the crowd towards the large scoreboard that had a '98' on its display.

"Shiningman.EXE DEFEATED! "

With a _DING!_ the scoreboard added another point to the board to '99'.

"No! This cannot be! My Shiningman is undefeatable!"

The probable operator was jumping up and down while flapping his arms madly. In front of him seems to be IPC's latest product: the Portable HoloBattleNet(TM) machine: a white, briefcase sized machine that can project a 3-D hologram of the NetBattle arena from the size of a playing card to the size of a large room.

"I'm sorry, but I think the crowd will say otherwise." Shiningman's operator's opponent stood on the other side of machine. He is a guy who seemed to be either in college or at least in his senior year in high school. He's tall, wears glasses, is lightly tanned, has smoothly combed hair like a businessman, and has a handsome face (the last one might be a fantasy on his part). Despite his skinny figure, he gives off the aura of inner strength, calmness, and maturity.

"You've lost, and according to our agreement, you have to pay the 50,000 zeny entrance fee."

"I can't accept this! It is absolutely IMPOSSIBLE for me to lose! Especially to a lowlilfe mobster like you!"

"I'm sorry, but one, if you think that bringing up my former past will save you your dignity and wallet, you're gravely mistaken; and two, I'm not a _lowlife_ and even if I am, I am too proud to stoop to that level."

"NANI! YOU! PROUD! HAH! Give me a break! How can you prove that you didn't cheat!"

"sigh Tell you what. You can choose anybody from this crowd to represent you and NetBattle me. And if you lose, you pay the 50,000 zeny you owe me. If I lose, I'll pay both YOU and your NetBattler the offered prize of 1,000,000 zeny. No strings attached."

"Really now! Hmm...Who to pick..."

"Oh my. Look who we have here! It's the great hero Hikari Netto! Mr. Hikari! I would be honored if you would NetBattle me!" The _gangster_ didn't seem to be all that bad. Besides, what's there to lose?

"Ne, Rockman Let's NetBattle him"

"No Netto-kun, we only have ten minutes left to get to Scilab. Let's go."

"Aww Rockman!"

"Hmm? Why do you need to get to Scilab at 11pm?"

"What? It's almost midnight! What are you talking about!"

"Umm...The time is 10:50pm. Daylight Savings Time ended today you know..."

"Yes! Let's NetBattle Rockman!"

"sigh Fine..."

"Yes! I am so going to win that money!" Shiningman's operator recovered from a near heart-attack (Netto was about to leave) and was now jumping up and down happily.

"Plug-in! Rockman! Transmi-"

Netto never got to finish the command because at that moment, a tall man walked out from the crowd and placed his hand on Netto's shoulder.

"With your permission, I would like to NetBattle instead."

Netto blinked and looked at the man. Tall, bulky, long trench coat, fedora hat...and there's seems to be a professional aura around him. "Umm...What do you think Rockman?"

"Uh...Sure. I guess..."

"Thank you." The man looked at the bishounen opponent and at the "gangster."

"Is it alright with you sirs?"

Shiningman's operator just blinked in confusion and the guy just nodded.

"I'll take that as a yes then. Jack-in! Windstorm.EXE! Download!"

The machine whirred to life as soon as the infrared beam made contact with the node. What appeared to be a white suitcase on its side opened up and the intricate insides were revealed. Power generator, holograph projectors, fans, and lots and lots of air vents. The man's navi, Windstorm, materialized onto what one would call a "desktop" and stood there in full 3-D 1024-bit color. He was wearing a standard black-colored cyber-skin and his equipment had a gold and dark green color scheme. He's what one would call "buff" and the same can be said for his armaments and armor too. The emblem at the center of the chest is a gray tornado spinning behind a lightning bolt on a lime green background which means, as Netto deduced, that the navi is of the Electricity element. There are two thin plates that follow the length of the arms on each arm both below and above the elbows. Judging by how the plates are placed parallel to each other and perpendicular to the surface of the arms, the plates seem to be arm guards. The golden chest armor seem to make Knightman's bulky figure seem scrawny. His green helmet is of a triangular shape with an orange visor that covers the slit-like red eyes, an antenna that comes out from the left side of the helmet along with a golden mouthguard and the navi's long gray hair gave Blues a run for his money. On the back, there are two huge rockets and what seems to be two small and thin wings. The only visible weapons are the two lightning bolt shaped beam saber handles at the waist, a pair of huge drills where the hands are supposed to be, and the spiked knee and shin guards. Unless the host's navi is powerful, this could become a quick NetBattle.

"Jack-in! X-Tracker.EXE! Download!"

A tall navi materialized in front of Windstorm on the machine. He had a dark green cyber-jumpsuit and barely any armaments. Despite the meagre amount of armor on him, X-Tracker seems to be loaded with guns from top to bottom. Wrist guns on each hand, four shoulder mounted vulcans (two on top, two on the side), two embedded chest guns, two pairs of guns on the waist and knees (one each), and a rifle in each hand. Even the knees seemed to have small vulcans on them. The helmet reminded Netto of Searchman because of the tracking utility that covered the right eye of the navi in the blackish-green helmet that seemed to protect a face as soon as the operator's. To top it all off, he had wing-like curved things attached on his back, the side of his arms, and the back of his legs; 4 on the back, one on each arm, and one per leg. Obviously, this navi's specialty was speed. Netto smirked because he would know that this guy would become best friends with Napalamman on sight; Rockman seemed to be thinking the same thing. The crowd roared in delight as the navis were enlarged to be twice the size of the operators and the actual battle field materialized around the area causing the more "ooh"s and "ahh"s, and as the navis assumed fighting stances, a bell rang. The crowd roared even more as the navis started fighting.

"X! Let's finish this quickly and claim our 100th and final victory of the year!"

"Roger!"

X-Tracker started the fight by unleashing all of his guns onto Windstorm. Windstorm held his ground by blocking all of the shots with his drills.

"Windstorm, let's end this warm-up quickly. We have a schedule to keep."

_Schedule? What does he mean by schedule? _Netto thought.

"Okay. What's the plan?"

"Drill and fire."

"Roger that. Awaiting battle chips."

"Battlechips Guard 3 and AntiDamage download!"

A large curved shield appeared in front of Windstorm and started taking in X-Tracker's bullets. Windstorm flashed once after initiating the AntiDamage chip when a huge shockwave appeared and headed straight towards the young navi. X-Tracker stopped firing and jumped out of the way. Not surprisingly, some members of the crowd did so too. X-Tracker looked around looking for Windstorm but scanning the field didn't help.

"Is he underground?" thought X-Tracker.

"No! X! Look above you!"

"Huh?"

Windstorm was in the sky looking down on X-Tracker. He was just floating there...as if he was waiting for X-Tracker to do something.

"You think you're crazy, eh? Floating in the sky and all. Well, you're crazy alright. Googol Barrage!" X-Tracker started to unleash another fury of lasers and bullets at Windstorm. Windstorm calmly lifted his arms, pointing them towards the incoming projectiles and at X-Tracker.

"Drilling Tornado!" With that, Windstorm's drills started spinning and created a large funnel of wind that covered and scattered the incoming bullets and beams and headed straight for X-Tracker.

"What in the...They weren't DrillArms! AUGH!" X-Tracker was blasted by the tornados and flew off.

"X! Are you alright? You know better than to incorrectly assume the opponent's capabilities!"

"Hahaha...This guy's the best of the lot today. I'm glad that you're my 100th opponent today...Oi! Send me some battlechips!"

"Okay! Two WideBlade battlechips! Double download!"

X-Tracker's two main rifles de-materialized and his hands transformed into two powerful looking blades.

"Now I-" X-Tracker never got to finish the sentence because at moment, Windstorm appeared in front X-Tracker and thrust his spinning, right DrillArm towards X-Tracker's face. X-Tracker blocked the drill with an X made by his swords. He jumped back and instantly lunged at Windstorm. Windstorm was about to attack again but instead had to parry with X-Tracker. Soon, their arms were in a deadlock and were glaring at each other while struggling to push the other. Then X-Tracker smiled as his shoulder mounted vulcans unfolded and blasted Windstorm square in the face, chest, and drills. Windstorm jumped backwards to evade the remaining shots, but not without a set of busted drills.

"Hah! Your drills are now busted! You are weak now!" A large bazooka appeared over X-Tracker's right arm as the sword disappeared. "Target locked on! Homing Bazooka!" X-Tracker started blasting the bazooka shots towards Windstorm.

"It's not over yet. Windstorm!"

"Okay!" Windstorm extended his arms and with a small burst of light, the drills both split evenly into four parts and opened up backwards exposing a pair of vulcans inside.

"What in the..."

"Vulcan Tornado!" The drill petals started spinning rapidly and blew the bazooka shots back towards their owner. X-Tracker had barely managed to dodge them when Windstorm started firing the powered-up vulcans at X-Tracker. Then the drills suddenly clamped shut and flew off from Windstorm's wrists towards X-Tracker. X-Tracker, after being hit by the vulcans, managed to retaliate quickly enough to shoot the drill missiles before they connected.

"Battlechip! Geddon2!" The panels on the floor started to crumble and break and some member of the crowd started to scream and run off because they feared the crumbling panels (they came back red-faced). Windstorm didn't seem to be affected because he just floated in mid-air.

"You think you're crazy, eh? Floating there like that. Well, how about this! FullCustom! Snake! Attack+30! Download! Let's finish this X!"

X-Tracker raised his hand from the depths of the abyss and snakes popped up from the holes of the ground.

"SNAKE!" X-Tracker pointed towards Windstorm and the snakes all hissed and screeched as they streaked towards the electric navi in triplets of green streaks. The crowd gasped as the green snakes exploded upon contact with Windstorm. Everybody held their breath waiting for the cyber dust cloud to settle. The seconds ticked away as the dust cloud slowly dissipated and everybody was straining to see if Windstorm was finished...Everybody except his operator that is.

"Rockman. Do you think it's over?"

"I don't know- Hey look above!"

Netto looked upwards to see a shuriken materialize and launch itself towards X-Tracker. X-Tracker never had a chance and the shuriken hit him right in the left chest area and pin him to the ground as the left chest vulcan exploded.

"Augh!"

Windstorm appeared as the dust cloud disappeared and he was standing on a kawarimi. _Of course! The AntiDamage chip from earlier!_ Netto thought.

"X! Hang in there! Are you alright!"

"Argh...It's your fault, Rob. You forgot about the AntiDamage chip. RARGH!" X-Tracker painfully pulled out the shuriken from his chest and slowly got up.

"Time to end this, Windstorm. Program Advance! AntiDamage! AntiNavi! Muramasa! Body Guard!"

"Body Guard!"

X-Tracker looked up as he could only helplessly watch as a giant dark figure fade into existence behind Windstorm and materialize ten large shurikens. Windstorm pulled out a beam saber hilt from his waist with his right arm and pointed it towards the sky. A lightning bolt hit the beam saber hilt and a long electric beam sword appeared.

"Oh my..."

Windstorm lowered his arm and pointed it at X-Tracker. The shurikens launched themselves forward and headed towards X-Tracker in single file like meteors falling across the sky. X-Tracker started to jump and dodge the shurikens but as he somersaulted out of the way of the fourth shuriken, Windstorm appeared in front of X-Tracker and slashed him two times with the beam saber just before X-Tracker managed to jump away with his speed again. The electrical element of the beam saber paralyzed X-Tracker in mid scream and he only got to finish it after the remaining six shurikens bullseye'd him.

"Katana3 download."

Windstorm's left arm materialized into a katana and he slashed the immobile X-Tracker twice more to finish him.

"X-Tracker.EXE PLUGOUT."

Everybody stood still for several seconds contemplating the extreme action and most intense NetBattle they have ever seen since the Red Sun and Blue Moon NetBattle tournaments. The battlefield and Windstorm faded out from view as the machine whirred to a stop. With a "BZZT!" the scoreboard reset itself to display the number '0' and the machine folded up back into its suitcase form.

Suddenly, somebody from the crowd started to clap. One, then two, and soon, everybody was clapping. The clapping continued and everybody started cheering and hooting for the two NetBattlers and their navis. Shiningman's operator stood there dumbfounded due to the intensity of the battle until the cheers brought him back to reality.

"He won? HE WON! WHOO HOO! I WON! YEAH! WHO DA MAN! OO! OO! OOO! OOH!"

He rushed to Windstorm's operator and shook hands with the man furiously to show his gratitude. X-Tracker's operator walked up to Windstorm's operator and offered his hand. His opponent shook his hand firmly.

"I thank you for the awesome NetBattle. It has been a long time since X and I had a worthy opponent to NetBattle against. My name is Anderson. Robert Anderson. My friends call me Rob. What's yours?"

"Chrovel. Richard Chrovel."

"Well, Mr. Chrovel - may I call you Richard?- X and I salute you again for the great NetBattle. Here's the prize money as I've promised." Anderson beamed the promised million zeny prize to Shiningman's operator's and Chrovel's PETs. "I hope we'll meet again and NetBattle soon."

"Me too, Mr. Anderson. Me too..." Chrovel walked up to Netto and beamed something into Rockman's PET. "I've sent you half of the prize money that I've just received. This is my token of thanks for allowing to NetBattle in your stead. Thank you." And with that, he walked off.

"You're welcome..." Netto stood there and watched Chrovel put on his fedora back on and disappear into the crowd with his hands in his trench coat's pockets. Netto looked behind him and saw Shiningman's operator walk off with his head up high. The crowd dispersed and Netto was just about to challenge Anderson to a NetBattle when Rockman interfered.

"Netto-kun. We really have to get to SciLabs...Even with the clock adjustments, there's only 30 minutes left..."

"Aww Rockman"

"Netto-kun! Meiru-chan wouldn't be very happy if you're late for your _date_."

"Oh shoot! Meiru-chan! I totally forgot!"

"sigh Let's hurry."

"Right." And Netto speeded off towards the SciLabs.

Robert Anderson sighed as he watched the crowd disperse. _That was one of the most intense NetBattles I ever had. Too bad I lost it. Heh..._he thought. X-Tracker seemed to be thinking the same thing for at that moment, his hologram appeared over Robert's shoulder and plopped down to sit.

"That was great, eh Rob? He was CRAZY!"

"Yeah. The guy thinks he's crazy. Hehehe...Wait until next time. We'll show him who's crazy."

"Yeah...Haahahaha."

Suddenly, their laughter was interrupted by somebody's lone clapping in the empty street. Two men in white robes walked out from the shadows of an alley. The leader, who was clapping, wore glasses and had brown curly hair. The other, obviously of lower rank, was wearing glasses too, but had spiky hair unlike his superior.

"Dr. Hikari." Robert nodded towards the first man. "And I presume you're Mr. Famous? Pleased to make your acquaintance."

"Pleased to meet you too." replied Mr. Famous.

"Well done Robert." said the first man.

"Thank you Dr. Hikari. Unfortunately, I had failed the test."

"On the contrary, you passed."

"Huh? I don't understand."

"You see...This test of 100 consecutive victories was a test of your skill and your navi's skill in NetBattling and not your ability to amass 100 easy victories. You were unable to NetBattle my son when you had the chance, but you had an equally formidable opponent and I congratulate you on a great NetBattle."

"You flatter me Dr. Hikari."

"No, no, I don't. Nonetheless, you are now accepted to be part of the top-secret Project S."

"I cannot express my gratitude enough Dr. Hikari."

"No, no, it's nothing. Welcome to the SciLabs Mr. Anderson. We hope you'll have a productive and successful career compared to your previous occupation."

"Thank you."

"Now if you'll excuse me, I have to rush now because the announcement will start in less than 30 minutes. I'll see you the day after tomorrow at SciLab. Bye."

"Good-bye Dr. Hikari, Mr. Famous."

When the two scientists disappeared down the street, Robert jumped and down with joy.

"Did you hear that X! We got in! We got in! WHOO HOO!"

"Yeah! Nobody can beat us now! Hey, let's head over to SciLab to see the 'Great Announcement' that everybody's dying to see."

"Okay. Let's go!"

Robert picked up his equipment and ran down the street.

_To be continued..._

Author's Notes:

In this fic, all battlechip names will be identified by their dub names due to my lack of knowledge of the Japanese names.

I'll be using the Japanese names for most of the characters except a couple of exceptions like Meijin (aka. Mr. Famous).

Matrix joke. Sue me. D: On second thought, sue me later when the more horrible jokes come. XP

I hate to sound desperate, but I would really appreciate it if you guys leave me reviews after reading. Thanks. XX


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